Suspension and moving device for drapes and doors



F. B. HILL 3,045,747 SUSPENSION AND MOVING DEvcE ,FOR DRAPES AND DooRsJuly 24, 1962 r15L.Sheets-Sheet l Filed May 16. 1960 NN NN ATTORNEYSJuly 24, 1962 F. B. HILL 3,045,747

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INVENTOR ATTORNEYS ilnited tates 3,045,747 Patented July 24, 1962 tice3,045,747 SUSPENSIN AND MOVING DEVICE FOR DRAPES AND DOORS Franklin E.Hill, 2i)` 13th Place, Long Beach, Calif. Filed May 16, 1960, Ser. No.297,379 2 Claims. (Cl. i60-331i) ingidevices for drapes or doors.

One of the main objects of the invention is in the provision of overheadsubstantially closed carrier supported mechanism for suspending andmoving drapes or doors smoothly and easily.

Earlier devices of this general character have all been cumbersome,complicated, unsightly and dicult to maintain in smoothly operatingcondition. 'I'he heavy drapes impose frictional conditions on thesupporting elements which prevent easy manipulation whether manual ormotor controlled, Applicant in the preferred embodiment of the inventiondisclosed in the drawings, provides specially designed carrier mechanismand guided synchronously actuated supports that insure smooth drapeoperation from a hidden position. It is the theory of the presentinvention to associate the elements in such manner that frictiony doesnot cause dillicult and jerky positioning of the drapes. It is alsocontemplated that'the general theory of the substantially closedoverhead carrier mechanism be applied to the hanging and moving ofdoors.

Another object of the invention is in the provision of This inventionrelates generally to suspension and movlight weight drape supports andplastic guiding and actuating means that avoids friction to a largeextent and insures smooth and` easy drape movement to properly hungposition.

Still another object of the invention is in the provision of a screwsupporting overhead carrier that guides driving and synchronized drapesupports smoothly and easily to desired positions of adjustment.

' Yet another object of the invention is to provide drape supports thatare mounted in a special anti-frictional manner in an overheadsubstantially closed carrier housing.

A further object of the invention is in the provision of hook supportingmechanism that permits manual attachment and removal of the `drapes in asimple and easy manner.

A still further object of the invention is to provide manual or powerdriven drape supporting and moving mechanism that can be attached in theupper window frame or ceiling iu such manner that it is completelyhidden from view.

Another object of the invention is in the provision of light metal andplastic drape supporting elements that operate smoothly to adjusteddrape positions without lubrication of any kind.

Yet another object of the invention is in the provision of screwsupporting overhead carrier and door supporting mechanism for movingdoors smoothly and easily to desired adjusted positions.

With the foregoing objects in view, and such other objects andadvantages as4 will become apparent to those skilled in the art to whichthis invention relates as this specication proceeds, the inventionconsists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts allashereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View showing the supporting mechanism inclosed drape position;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 ot FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view` taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

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FIGURE 5 is an exploded perspective View of one of the driving drapesupporting blocks;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of one of the driven drape Y supportingblocks;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view showing generally the manner of mountingthe door supporting and moving mechanism;

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of FIGURE 7; and

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of one of the door supports.

Referring to the drawings, and especially to the preferred embodiment ofthe invention disclosed in FIG- URES l through 6, a drape carrier,generally referred to as C, is comprised of a longitudinally disposedhousing lll that has laterally disposed flanges l2 and I4. The flanges12 and 14 are plural apertured at 16 to receive screws 18 that securethe carrier C in the upper window frame or ceiling 20. The carrierhousing 10 is closed on all sides with the exception of a continuouslongitudinal opening 2l in one side thereof. The housing 10 is boredthroughout at 22 to` form a screw cylinder. The housing 10 is alsorecessed longitudinally at 24 to form a yoke hub` support. A verticallydisposedV longitudinal recess 26 in the housing 10 provides a drapesupport guide, The ends of the housing 10 are initially open to permitassembly of the actuating mechanism, later to be described. The housing`10 may beV extruded or cast as desired. Dual end plates 28 and 30 areattached to the carrier or housing Ill in final assembly.

A screw 32 threaded in a standard left and right manner at 34 and 36 iscontained in the bore or cylinder 22. One end of the screw 32 has abearing support 3S, in end plate 30. The other end of the screw 32extends through ".the end plate 28 at 40 and iin-ds bearing support inthe plate 28,. The screw 32 is power driven by means of a gear 42secured to the screw end 40 and a pair of meshing gears 44 and 46. Thegear 46 is secured to a drive shaft 48 of a conventional electric motor50 supported on the end plate 28. Any gear ratio desired may be obtainedby arrangement of suitable gears.

The screw 32 may ,bev formed of a hollow aluminum tube of circular formS2 or it may have hexagonal shape as shown at S4A in FIGURE 8. Althoughthe screw 32 may be formed in several ways, it is intended that the tubesurface be sand blasted at 56 and the left and right threads 34 and 36be built up by molded plastic iiberglas threads 58 to form an integralscrew unit.

A pair of drape supporting and driving blocks 60 and 62 are shown inadjacent position in FIGURE 1. They are identical in every respect :andeach block, as shown in FIGURE 5, has a yoke generally refenred to as Yconnecting the block with the left and right threads on the screw 32 as-willv later be described. The driving drape supports Ior blocks 6) and62 are :fashioned initially by extrusion and then cut to similarlengths. The driven 'blocks 6I) and 62 support .the inner edges of theconventional drapes D as shown in FIGURE l. Inasmuch as `they aireidentical, only one will be described. An inner block portion 64 isformed in louter contour to coincide in a sliding manner with the recess26 in the carrier or housing I0. 'Ihe portion 64 has an inner recess 66machined therein. A slot 68 is milled in the 4inner face 70yof the block64. A pair yof circular nylon plugs 7-2 are fitted into milled recesses74l in the upper surface 76 of block portion 64. A -second pair of nylonplugs 78v 4are -iitted int-o milled openings 80 on the lower face $2 ofblock 64. The plugs72 and "781 are disposed requiring no lubrication andthey rit the inner block portion 64 in proper guided slidingrelationship in the recess 26. The plugs may be loosely attached forroller action. An outer block attachment portion 84 is reduced in sizeat 86 `and recessed at 88 to slide longitudinally in the opening 21formed in the side of Ithe carrier or housing 10. The outer blockportion 84 is recessed at 90 in a continuous manner 4to form downwardlyprojecting bifurcated plates 92 and 94. The inner plate 92 is spaced at96 from the lower side of the outer face of housing 10. The yoke,generally referred to as Y, has `a screw thread engaging portion 98projecting from a rearwardly disposed hub 100 that is slidablelongitudinally in the carrier or housing recess 24. A circular portion102 on the outer end of Ithe hub 100 is spaced therefrom by a circulargroove 104. The groove 104 is slidably received in the opening 68 andIthe portion 102 is received in the vertical recess 66 in the innerblock portion 64. Actuation of the screw 32 obviously moves the yoke 98in the direction indicated by the left or right threads 34 and 36. Theyoke 98 having its hub 100` slidably and operatively received in theinner block portion 64 moves the drape supporting block laterally in therecess 26.

The outer block portion 84 is connected to an inner arm 106 of a lazytong lever generally referred to as L. The connection is made by 1a pin`108 that engages spaced openings 110 in bifurcated plates 92 and 94.The pin 108 passes through the opening in a ring 112 that clamps thedual plates 114 forming the lever arm 106. When initial assembly is madeby connection of the various parts .at the ends of the carrier 10, 1ahead 116 on the pin 108 is slid into the space 96 between the innerplate 92 and the outer lower surface of housing 10. The pin is thereforeheld in position at all times without further securing means. A shallowvertically disposed groove 118 on the outer face of `the block portion84 has a ilat spring 120 humped at 122 fastened therein at one end bymeans of a screw 124 threaded into the block at 126. A conventionaldrape hook, lgenerally referred to as H, has its inner end 126engageable with the supporting block by a sidewise manual movement thatsnaps the hook H securely under the hump 122 of the spring 120. Manualengagement and release of a single drape hook H is thereforeaccomplished without affecting adjacent hooks. The drape hooks H areattached to Iapertures in brackets 127 on .the inner adjacent drivingsupport attachment members 84 as shown in FIGURE 1.

The screw and yoke .actuated drape supporting block of the dual set,just described, provides the driving means for the multiple spaced drapesupporting blocks 128 shown specifically in FIGURES 4 and 6. The drapesupports 128 are similar in every respect to the driving blocks 64actuated by the screw and yoke mechanism with the exception that they donot have the recess 66 and slot 68 for receiving the hub elements of theyoke 98. The drape supports 128 have therefore been given prime numeralsto identify similar parts. The blocks 128 Aare pivotally connected at`130 to the upper ends of a conventional lazy tong lever describedgenerally as L. The outer ends of the lazy tong lever L are pivotallyconnected yat 132 and 134 lto the end plates 28 land 30, respectively.

The operation of the device is simple, The drapes are fastened to thehooks in conventional properly hung position as shown in FIGURE 1. Thedrape moving mechanism is completely hidden from View. Whether manuallyor power operated, the screw 32 and yokes Y move the dual driving blocks60 and 62 outwardly or inwardly to desired drape adjustment. Themultiple driven drape supports 128 are synchronously moved in the samemanner by the lazy tong lever L. The drapes are thus hung at all timesin attractive properly folded condition. The movement is -accomplishedsmoothly and easily by the light weight metal and plastic parts whichrequire no lubrication at any time. The positioning of the moving partsWithin the closed carrier housing permits smooth operation with `aminimum amount of friction. The device is substantially dirt and dustproof.

In FIGURES 7, 8 and 9, a modication of the drape moving mechanism hasbeen applied to doors. A carrier or housing 136 of light weight metal isformed by extrusion with a cylindrical bore 138, a yoke hub recess 140and a driving block recess 142. A continuous longitudinal opening in thecarrier 136 is designated 143. The carrier 136 is attached by aperturedflanges 146 and plural screws 148 in the door frame and wall F. Acircular or hexagonal light metal tube 54 has a plastic thread 152molded thereon in the manner described earlier. In this instance, asingle thread is used. A yoke 154, hub 156, roller 158 and groove 160,identical to those previously described engage a slot 162 and recess 164in a driving block or door support 166. The block 166 has dual nylonanti-friction rollers 168 disposed in milled openings 170. The rollersor fixed plugs, if desired, ride on the bottom of recess 142. Aprojection 172 of the block or support 166 is flanged laterally at 174and 176. The flanges 174 and 176 are connected by dual screws 178 to abracket 180. The bracket 180 is bolted in plural manner at 182 to theupper edge of a door D. The threaded tube or screw 54 is mounted anddriven by an electric motor 184 in the same manner as described earlier.The assembly and other connecting elements are also the same.

The operation of the power actuated door moving mechanism is simple.Several driving blocks are required to properly support and move thedoor. Power actuation of the threaded screw 54 moves the yoke 154 indesired direction. The yoke simultaneously moves the door supportingblocks 166 and brackets 180. Because of the carrier suspension andassociation of the metal and plastic elements, the door moves smoothlyand easily to desired position. 'Ihe association of the drivingmechanism of the preferred embodiment of the invention and themodification within a recessed carrier obviates the entrance of dirt,dust `or water and insures continuous smooth operation.

Since various modifications can be made in my invention as hereinabovedescribed, and many apparently widely diferent embodiments of same madewithin the spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained inthe accompanying speciiication shall be interpreted as illustrative onlyand not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

l. Apparatus for opening and closing a pair of drapes, comprising: anoverhead horizontally extending elongated carrier housing, said carrierhousing being formed with a longitudinally extending bore, a continuousside vopening extending from said bore to one side of said housing and arecess between said bore and said side opening; a left-hand andright-hand threaded screw in said bore, said screw being rotatablysupported relative to said carrier housing; a pair of yokes engagingsaid screw and supported in said carrier housing so as to behorizontally movable relative to said carrier housing upon rotation ofsaid screw, said yokes including a connection element that moves in saidrecess; a pair of driving drape support members slidably disposed insaid recess for horizontal movement along said carrier housing, saiddriving drape support members being proximate relative to one anotherwhen said drapes are closed, with each of said driving drape supportmembers being non-rigidly secured to the connection element of one ofsaid yokes, and each of said driving drape support members extending outof said side opening; a plurality of driven drape support membersslidably disposed in said recess between each of said driven drapesupport members and the opposite ends of said carrier housing forhorizontal movement along said carrier housing, each of said drivendrape support members extending out of said side opening; lazy tonglevers drivingly connecting said drape support members wherebyhorizontal movement of said driving drape support members will effectconcurrent horizontal movement of said driven drape support memibers;drape attachment means secured to each of said drape support members onthe side thereof remote from said housing whereby drapes attached tosaid attachment means will hide said carrier and lazy tong levers fromobservation from the side of said housing remote from said drapes; andpower-operated actuating means for rotating said screw whereby saidyokes and drape support members are moved longitudinally relative ttosaid housing in a synchronized manner in either direction to open orclose said drapes.

`2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said poweractuated meansincludes an electric motor.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS LaceyJan. 9, 1923 Streby Nov. 8, 1938 Fentress July 24, 1951 Rosenbaum July20, 1954 Rosenbaum July 20, 1954 Pugh Aug. 31, 1954 Bennett Aug. 6, 1957Light Mar. 29, 1960

